Larry trains on more than 300 topics. This list
features some of the most requested workshops. Click herefor the list of training topics. If you do not see what you need, please contact Larry to see if he trains on that subject. Larry trains onsite, by telephone or by webinar.

If you work in the workforce development field, you experience our crazy convoluted way of doing things every day. You are very familiar with systems that make no sense, endless amounts of data entry that never yield any meaningful data and stages of processes that feel like stairways to some far off galaxy. But if you are an outsider to our system coming into contact with it for the first time, it seems like a maze with no end in sight. Many of the ways we operate will make no sense to a rational mind. If you made screwing in a light bulb an initiative of the workforce system, it would look like this - click here.

How many people in workforce development include having a sense of humor as an important workplace soft skill? It is rarely discussed in our field, but as this article proves the appropriate use of humor will help an individual advance in the world of work. Its time we started talking about humor as a very important soft skill. People are afraid of offending people so they do not use any humor. This is over reacting. We need to discuss humor, its place and its boundaries while encouraging people to be funny if their workplace culture values that soft skill. To learn more about humor and success click here.

BOOK YOUR DATE ON THE

LARRY ROBBIN NATIONAL TOUR!

I am finalizing the last dates for my upcoming national training and consulting tour. I will be in quite a few parts of the country so this is an ideal time to book a session for your organization. I train on more than 300 topics and consult on the A to Z of workforce development so there will definitely be something that can turn your program challenges into success stories. A popular way to use my services is to book a half day of staff training combined with a half day of management consulting. A joint training and/or consulting session is a great collaborative project and way to keep costs down. The process of organizing the day will bring your partners closer together and since my training is so interactive it will build collaboration among the participants. I look forward to hearing from you while there are still dates available. Click here to email me and get your date on the calendar now!

The ability to network effectively at an event is one of the best ways to get access to the hidden job market. People can network with employers at government meetings, small business classes, community events, business association mixers, political meetings and many other types of events. Most of our job seekers, like other people, are not very good at networking events. People are filled with anxiety about not knowing how to start a conversation with a stranger. They are also worried about what to say and how to act. There is a common tendency to wander around which is actually avoidance behavior about not connecting with people. We encourage people to network at all kinds of events, but we do not really teach them how to do it in a meaningful way. The best way to teach people to get better at networking is to stage a mock networking event. To find out how to make this work, click here.

Cancer and Careers www.cancerandcareers.org is a tremendous resource for people with cancer that are in job search, working or returning to work. They have some great publications and resources. Here is a description from their website about the organization: Cancer and Careers empowers and educates people with cancer to thrive in their workplace by providing expert advice, interactive tools and educational events. Through a comprehensive website, free publications, career coaching, and a series of educational seminars for employees with cancer and their healthcare providers and coworkers, Cancer and Careers strives to eliminate fear and uncertainty for working people with cancer. Cancerandcareers.org informs more than 250,000 visitors per year, providing essential tools and information for employees with cancer. Click here for more information.

As a manager, you are probably involved in many aspects of the hiring process. In all those steps like reviewing resumes and interviewing, experience is used as a key benchmark to predict the success of someone on a job. But experience, as many people are discovering, can be misleading. It may in fact not be a real predictor of success on the job. In the workforce development field some people with a lot of experience may be in the burn out stages of their career. It may be that they could not figure out a way to get out of workforce development so they use their experience to get hired even though their interest in the work is not there. An individual with solid transferable skills and a lot of high energy and excitement to do the job may out perform them. They can also be easier to train to the needs of your organization. This important article written by a well respected individual in the human resources field is a must read for anyone involved in the hiring process. Click here to read the article.

Panel interviews are becoming more widespread. It can be very challenging for anyone to be interviewed by a team at the same time. This can be especially difficult for people in workforce programs who do not feel confident about interviewing even with one person. The information in this article can be very useful as you train people to do a panel interview. Make sure you include mock panel interviews in your interview training. You can never tell when your candidate will walk into the room for an interview and see a line up of interviewers! Click here for more information on doing well in panel interviews.

This is an incredibly rich resource of toolkits to help you with building career pathways. You can search for the right toolkit by population, an aspect of a career pathway, industry and other selectors. This is a must check out resource for anyone involved in any way with career pathways. Click here to get to the catalog.

WHAT HAS LARRY BEEN UP TO?

I was honored to be invited to give the opening keynote address at the Saffron Strand conference on employment and youth that are homeless. I also presented a workshop on job retention strategies for programs working with youth that are homeless. This outstanding employment focused national conference is held every year in Richmond California and features one day focusing on adults and one day on youth that are homeless. It is a must attend event for anyone working on the issue of employment for adults and youth that are homeless. To get on the email list for next year's conference send an email to
yvonne@saffronstrand.org.

The Los Angeles Department of Mental Health sponsored my trainings; You Can Be a Change Agent! How to Work with Consumers to Improve Employment Motivation and Are You Talking Like Businesses Think? How to get the Private Sector to Hire Consumers.

I have been providing a great deal of management consultation and staff training to the SparkPoint Centers. The Centers are a project of the United Way of the Bay Area. They provide financial literacy and workforce development services to low income individuals. I have trained the staff in career counseling, workforce program development best practices, assessment and barrier removal

and provided customized consulting sessions to the management of the Centers.

I have been learning a lot from all of these experiences and I want to thank the people that have sponsored and attended my consulting and training sessions!